A Russian convicted murderer who was sentenced to 11 years in prison after he killed his girlfriend and put her body through a meat grinder has been pardoned after fighting against Ukraine, his mother said.
The mother of Dmitry Zelensky told the Russian media news outlet 59.RU that her son was pardoned after serving less than half of his sentence.
Zelensky, a veteran of the Second Chechen War, confessed to the 2018 murder of his 27-year-old girlfriend, Tatiana Melekhina, in 2019, 59.RU reported.
He admitted to strangling her to death after a quarrel, before disposing of her body in a horrific way to try to cover up his tracks, the media outlet said.
According to 59.RU, Zelensky told investigators during an interrogation that he dismembered her body, processed it in a meat grinder, collected the bones in three bags, and threw them into the river.
I've read it in a russian source and it said he murdered her because she insulted some other guy, his friend. Probs a vet too.
To be fair 11 years is a reeeeaalllllly long time in Russia. That's almost middle aged for them at the rate they've been going through soldiers.
I would say ~10 years is normal for a murder in Germany and other European countries. I don't know about current Russia but here the idea is jail time should lead to rehabilitation and a bit of punishment. In the US it is much more focused on punishment.
A murder verdict carries a mandatory life sentence in Germany, you might be thinking of manslaughter, which has a minimum of five. Life-long means possibility of parole after no fewer than 15 years, the average is 18.9 years, 13% sit longer than 25 years including, indeed, life-long. Not to speak of the possibility of preventive detention.
It's only about punishment in the US.
Mostly led by the “Christians”
Don't forget Canada.
10 years for ending someone else's life? I'm glad we have longer sentences for that here in the U.S. Don't get me wrong--I'm all for prison reform and introducing rehabilitative elements to reduce recidivism, but Europeans seem to have more concern for criminals than they do for the victims of crime.
Rehabilitation is how you show concern for victims of crime, not long sentences.
No, rehabilitation is about your concern for criminals, and I'm not saying criminals don't deserve concern. But appropriately long sentences are how you demonstrate to victims that you understand the harm that was done to them and are holding those responsible to account. If you don't do that, trust me, people will start exacting their own punishments, and you don't want victims administering "justice."
And yet our homicide rate is way higher than the next closest European country. Clearly those longer prison sentences in the victim's "best interest" are doing wonders for reducing victims.
To be fair it's not going to bring the person back and proper rehabilitation punishes the person through realization of wrong doing and can give back to the world and communities through redemption.
Sure 10 years but the guilt and disappointment is eternal. I think the rehab program and capabilities mean more than the time frame and clearly the science is on team rehab.
I've met people who feel guilty about murdering someone else in their past. Trust me, while the guilt sucks, it's not that bad. Punishment exists in criminal justice systems because people should suffer proportionately for making others suffer. If your system of justice doesn't sufficiently punish criminals for the harm they do to others, you will get vigilante justice instead. It's that fucking simple. People who think punishment has no place in a justice system are naive.
10 years in a Russian prison is an extremely brutal punishment. Here's a mild example of what happens there https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1kQblKeOT4E
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Literal orcs aren't even trying to pretend they're not orcs.
Heading to the front? Sounds like he'll be getting a death sentence soon enough then.
Russian prison or the Ukraine front... not sure which I'd choose.
I think once you've ground up your girlfriend in a meat grinder, the moral side of the question becomes rather murky.
Using ethically backwards logic, this can earn some cred in prison, while it doesn't matter on a frontline. Unless you are a torture operator or whatever.
I don't know, I bet Wagner would welcome someone with that sort of skill.
If we are discussing morality and philosophy, I would argue that the question is still not "murky". I reject your premise that a one cannot make arguments as to the morality of future actions, for a person who has committed immoral acts. If we can accept the premise that Russia's war in Ukraine is that of an aggressor state, participating in it as combatant, is immoral. Going to jail for refusing to participate in it, is not immoral. Whether or not that person has previously ground up people, is not relevant.
That doesn't mean the decision is an easy one to make. Or, it's much less easy than it is for me to armchair my words around. But I don't think morality is hard to pin down here.
Yeah, again, this guy ground up his girlfriend. I don't think he has a good grasp of morality.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
A Russian convicted murderer who was sentenced to 11 years in prison after he killed his girlfriend and put her body through a meat grinder has been pardoned after fighting against Ukraine, his mother said.
According to 59.RU, Zelensky told investigators during an interrogation that he dismembered her body, processed it in a meat grinder, collected the bones in three bags, and threw them into the river.
She told the news outlet that she had received a call from her son late last year in which he said he had signed a six-month agreement with the Wagner Group to fight in Ukraine.
Now, Zelensky is living with his aunt in Antratsit, in the Russian-occupied Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine, where he plans to get a job as a builder, his mom told 59.RU.
The news outlet said that Zelensky is making payments to the father and sister of his murdered ex-girlfriend, adding that a portion of his salary in the penal colony was also going toward his victim's family.
The UK Ministry of Defence warned in March that a large number of pardoned prisoners returning to Russia would lead to a "sudden influx of often violent offenders with recent and often traumatic combat experience," which could present a significant challenge.
The original article contains 459 words, the summary contains 209 words. Saved 54%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!
Yep, I think using the word 'after' rather than 'because' makes it a bit easier to understand.
There isn't enough alcohol in England
Hopefully, when Ukraine retakes the occupied oblasts, they'll either deport or reimprison this guy.
Unfortunately he was allowed to retire after fighting for only six months according to a comment above. I think this guy might know the right rich people to get the stupid short sentence in the first place, then be allowed free after six months. It's disgusting.
BADEN CLAY WASN'T EVEN THAT BAD
WELL, ALMOST
I'm afraid he'd return as a hero, and a wealthy one. A role model for future generations. The Dad that buys things, gifts them. Not an unmanly poor sucker who refuses service.
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There are so many wild things about that story. Assuming it is all true, he strangled his girlfriend, dismembered her, ran her through a meat grinder and disposed of the bones in three different bags. He got only 11 years. He was pardoned for being part of the Russian Army invading Ukraine. He only served in Ukraine for six months before retiring.
All that is insane. A murder with an already hilariously light sentence is pardoned by being on the front lines for six months?
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